South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

TBH we al know the risks with a small plate so have no arguement about a fine for riding with one,its a guarnteed attention grabber in this day and age and isnt worth the hassle of having one any more

Agreed.

For those of you looking to fall within the law, try ALS on Marsh Barton for a new plate.

I've been looking on-line for a new plate and the best price I found was £10. Additionally, no websites actually stated that the plate would be road legal. Only that it would be 9"x7".

ALS do a road legal plate for about £8. http://www.alsmotorparts.co.uk/ I haven't been there yet, but the guy on the phone sounded OK.

Haven't they got any real crimes to deal with? Get mugged or something and there's not a cop around for miles. Now, go out with a small plate on your bike and they're all over you like flies round a cow's arse! Mine's small-ish, but not so small that it looks stupid on my type of bike. Maybe that's the reason why the cops haven't bothered with me so far?

Its easy revenue and work. just go out and dish out £30 fines all day. Muggings and realcrimes dont pay the petrol bills

i was pulled with a 6x8 a few months ago. and was told that it was illegal and should be a fine but he could read it ok when he was following me and checking i was insured etc. so i was let off. although i dont think i would with the 5 by 4 i have now!

Yep. We all know the law, so we all know when we're breaking it. But there's none of the leniency that we used to see. It used to only be the one-line plates that got tugged... I've been riding with a small plate for about 4 yrs, but now it seems like the game is up.

Apparently, next year there's gonna be no questions asked for these minor things. Tints, seatbelts, lights, plates... Will all be automatically endorsable with 3 points and £60.

So, that'll make us all feel good when we watch the end of 'Road Wars' and hear things like "The 17yr old joyrider that was caught speeding and crashed into someones house... was given a Police caution".

Yeah, it's the same sort of "logic" in the legal system that gives that mentally disabled guy who tried to bomb the Giraffe Restaurant 18 years in jail (remember he did have a mental age of 10 years old) and an Al-Kida terrorist leader £2,500 and a slap on the wrist!

FFS!

I got tugged AGAIN today for my diddy plate!

I popped into ALS on Saturday to buy a legal plate, but they were unable to make the plate until today. So I paid for it and kept the receipt...

I had planned to pick up the new plate on my way home from work today. During my ride home I spotted the rozzer sitting in the entrance to The Devon Motel as I approached from the Dawlish roundabout. I take exit to Marsh Barton and see the blue lights in my mirrors as he guns it across the roundabout traffic to get behind me. As he followed me through Marsh Barton I hoped that he wouldn't pull me before I got to ALS. So when he followed me into the ALS carpark I was already chuckling to myself!

He parks up next to me at ALS and before he says anything I pull out my receipt and the ticket his colleague pinned on me just 4 days ago. He was a decent bloke and joked "Unlucky!" when he saw that his mate did me for £30! Incinuating that he would've just given me the verbal.

This copper mentioned this latest crackdown too, and I got the distinct impression that he was staking out just for this kind of thing. In fact, his position on the Devon Motel roundabout makes me think that he was there fishing specifically for bikers. It's good hunting ground for bikes just there.

I've been riding with a small plate for 4 years, but have now been pulled twice in the last 4 days. If you're riding 'round Exeter with a small plate, chances are you're gonna get a tug I think.

so is the fine 30 quid on the spot? what i you dont have 30 quid on you!? or do they send you the fine or somthing??

Tom1528 wrote:so is the fine 30 quid on the spot? what i you dont have 30 quid on you!? or do they send you the fine or somthing??

You get a ticket - the regular ticket - with details of the fine and instructions on how to pay. Take more than 28 days to cough up and the fine increases by 50%. Continue to refrain from paying and you'll get a summons. You can also refuse to pay and contest the fine in court, but good luck with that.

Or... luck out and get a copper who'll just let you off with a verbal.

philh wrote:

Tom1528 wrote:so is the fine 30 quid on the spot? what i you dont have 30 quid on you!? or do they send you the fine or somthing??

You get a ticket - the regular ticket - with details of the fine and instructions on how to pay. Take more than 28 days to cough up and the fine increases by 50%. Continue to refrain from paying and you'll get a summons. You can also refuse to pay and contest the fine in court, but good luck with that.

Or... luck out and get a copper who'll just let you off with a verbal.

oh thats not too bad. im always skint so i'd never have money on me to pay for it on the spot.

Oh dear...

Must be an Exeter issue at the moment. Coming back from the run on Sunday, me & Badger were closely followed by a traffic car for a little while. They came by on blues/twos to stop a mile down the road to remove some debris in the carriageway. Despite Badger having a legal plate & mine being obviously smaller (6x6) they just waved us by - expected a tug further down the road but nothing (they did flash Badger for being flat on the tank and sounding fast at 100,000rpm )

Well I was just followed by a traffic cop car for 3 miles, no pull

I have smaller than standard number plates on all my bikes, and as long as you stick within the dimensions, in green below, you should not have a problem.
I intend to print the dimensions on to a piece of paper and carry it in my leathers, just in case.

!!! Motorcycle number plates are allowed smaller numbers & letters than cars !!!

................................................///..............................................
Motorcycles and tricycles
There are separate provisions for motorcycles and
tricycles. This means, motorcycles registered from
1 September 2001 must only display a number plate
at the rear of the vehicle.
Motorcycles registered before 1 September 2001 can
display a number plate at the front, but do not have to.
The number plate must be a “2-line” number plate and
must be displayed on all motorcycles registered on or
after 1 January 1973. Tricycles derived from four-wheeled
bodies, such as saloon cars and quad bikes must meet
the normal requirements above.
Tricycles derived from motorcycles must meet the
requirements for motorcycles shown below.
- Character height 64mm
- Character width (except the figure 1 or letter I) 44mm
- Character stroke 10 mm
- Space between characters 10mm
- Space between groups 30mm
- Top, bottom and side margins (minimum) 11mm
- Vertical space between groups 13mm
.....................................................///...................................................

The above was taken direct from the DVLA website:
http://www.dvla.gov.uk/media/pdf/leaflets/inf104.pdf